Pool & Patio

Just a quick reminder: if you want to nominate a pool and patio or outdoor living product or company for the 2012 About.com Readers' Choice Awards, the deadline is tonight at 11:59 p.m. EST.

The Pool and Patio site has seven categories: find out what they are and nominate now, then forward this to a friend or colleague!

Have you stepped up and nominated your favorite pool, patio or home and garden products for this year's Readers' Choice Awards? There's just one week left to make sure that hot tub, outdoor toy, pool vacuum or patio furniture brand has been nominated in its appropriate category. It would be a shame if a deserving product or book went unnoticed because someone (you, perhaps?) forgot to nominate them!

For the second year in a row, About.com Pool and Patio is participating in the annual About.com Readers' Choice Awards. Nominations are being accepted in the following seven categories:

1. Best Hot Tub/Spa brand or manufacturer
2. Favorite Outdoor Toy
3. Best Pool Cleaner/Vacuum brand and model
4. Best Decking Material (real wood, composite or whatever else you might use for decking)
5. Best Patio Furniture brand or manufacturer
6. Best Outdoor Lighting
7. Best Book, Outdoor Living and Design

After nominations close on Wednesday, February 15, finalists in each category will be determined and voting for the winners will take place from Wednesday, February 22, through Wednesday, March 21, with winners announced on Friday, March 30, 2012.

It's chilly outside, and a soak in a hot tub would be invigorating. The dash from the house to the tub in a swimsuit -- even with a terry robe -- doesn't sound too enticing, but the idea of relaxing in that hot water makes up for it. Just think -- your toes could potentially wiggle again. What a sexy thought.

On that note, think about your favorite hot tub or spa brand. Maybe you don't have one, but the model owned by your neighbors must be pretty nice, seeing as how you're always inviting yourself over for a soak. Maybe that two-person hot tub you tried out at the local spa dealer is worth a nomination. Give it careful consideration, then nominate your favorite hot tub / spa in About.com's 2012 Readers' Choice Awards. After that, nominate products / books in the six other Pool and Patio categories.

No, you don't win a hot tub. If you want a soak in a hot tub -- well, that's up to you. Good luck, and nominate smart.

February is a good time to start thinking about your outdoor patio furniture. Like, is that old rump-sprung vinyl-strap chair beyond repair? Maybe it's time to consider a new piece, or a whole set, for that matter. In the patio world -- casual furniture market -- who's who and who makes what?

On the topic of outdoor patio furniture, I've sought and answered a couple of questions, like, what is marine-grade plywood and what is shorea wood? Along the way, I've learned the history of metal lawn furniture and how to care for wood garden furniture.

Don't forget to nominate your favorite outdoor patio furniture brands in the About.com 2012 Readers' Choice Awards, along with six other pool and patio-related categories.

Do you clean your own swimming pool? Are you happy with your pool cleaner / vacuum? If so, nominate your favorite model, brand or manufacturer in the Best Pool Cleaner / Vacuum category of About.com's 2012 Readers' Choice Awards.

The About.com Reader's Choice Awards 2012 Pool and Patio gives readers the opportunity to speak up and nominate their favorite home and garden books, outdoor toys, patio furniture, decking, hot tubs / spas and outdoor lighting brands and manufacturers.

The nomination period ends Wednesday, February 15, after which nominations will be tallied, and five finalists will be determined for each category.

The voting phase begins Wednesday, February 22, 2012 and continues through Wednesday, March 21. The winners, as determined by your votes, will be announced on Friday, March 30, 2012.

Spread the word!

Enough with winter already. I don't know about you, but I say it's time to bring on the home and garden shows. I want to see giant koi in ponds that I'd like to have in my backyard, and patio furniture that looks like it's part of a complete set, rather than the mismatched Craigslist orphans sitting on my balcony.

There are loads of patio, pool, home and garden shows scheduled pretty much every place it's spring (that would be in March).  Getting a head start a week or two earlier than most is the popular Minneapolis Home & Garden Show, which is held, appropriately, at the Minneapolis Convention Center. Check out our list of home and garden, pool and patio shows and get busy planning your yard makeovers in the coming months. If you know of a show or event not on this list, contact us!

The About.com Readers' Choice Awards have been underway for a week now, and a new category has been added to the lineup for About.com's Pool and Patio site. The category --  Best Book, Outdoor Living and Design.

Have you read a home and garden book that you'd recommend to a friend, or anyone, for that matter? Possible book subjects can include:

• Landscape design
• Outdoor kitchens
• Patios
• Porches
• Decks
• Playhouses, Treehouses and children's play structures and spaces
• Working with stone and other materials
• Outdoor DIY projects

The book nominated must have been published in 2010 or later. No interior design or gardening how-to books will be considered.

So, what are the best pool and patio products on the market?

For the second year in a row, About.com Pool and Patio is participating in the annual About.com Readers' Choice Awards. Beginning on Wednesday, January 18th, at 12:01 a.m., we will be accepting nominations in the following categories:

• Best Hot Tub/Spa brand or manufacturer
• Favorite Outdoor Toy
• Best Pool Cleaner/Vacuum brand and model
• Best Decking Material (real wood, composite or whatever else you might use for decking)
• Best Patio Furniture brand or manufacturer
• Best Outdoor Lighting
• Best Book, Outdoor Living and Design

After nominations close on Wednesday, February 15, finalists in each category will be determined and voting for the winners will take place from Wednesday, February 22, through Wednesday, March 21, with winners announced on Friday, March 30, 2012.

There won't be a trophy, prize or red carpet interviews-- just the bragging rights that come with getting recognized by the readers of one of the biggest networks on the Web, owned by  The New York Times Co. Learn more about the 2012 About.com Readers' Choice Awards Pool and Patio categories -- all seven of them.

Reminder: Links to nomination forms will go live here beginning January 18.

My 13-year-old daughter has been talking about turning her two-level play structure / gym into something more like a clubhouse where she can hang out with friends or by herself. She wants to keep the big green plastic slide, but she and my husband have already raised the roof.

Cooler nights make you want to bundle-up indoors and read books that might contain your next spring or summer project. Check out this list of books I've compiled about DIY playhouse, treehouse, shed and backyard retreat projects that will get your mind off current concerns and help you look forward to the spring and summer. Once you've found the right book(s), you can look through the photos and plans together to figure out which project is the right one for you. Email or post your book choices or project progress in the Forum!

Photo Courtesy of PriceGrabber

Since New Year's Eve is a time of reflection for those of us who aren't romping with the elite in St. Bart's or watching The Ball drop in Times Square, I'm taking a look back at the past month. I'm a bit disappointed that holiday decorating is behind me, since I was able to take a fun tour of yards and porches decorated with those fabulous vintage outdoor blow mold Christmas decorations. No more scrambling to buy Christmas presents, either. Although, this list of home and garden gift ideas works for birthdays, anniversaries, Valentine's Day, Mother's Day -- any occasion.

I'm looking forward to 2012. Maybe I have to say that, but I like the sense of renewal and optimism. If you don't want to take a stab at personal resolutions just yet, step out in your yard and tackle one of the suggestions on my Home and Garden New Year's Resolutions list.

Or, take a look at one of these:

• What Are Thrillers, Fillers and Spillers?
• Vertical Garden Ideas
• What is a Courtyard?
• Composite Decking Brands
• What is a Sauna?

Here's to a promising 2012! And if you happen to see George Clooney on the lounge chair next to you in the islands, tell him I said, "Hey."